BETHLEHEM. 
381 
men whose grovelling understandings have sunk so low as to 
vilify the sacred name of Christianity by the grossest outra¬ 
ges upon human intellect. In the pavement of tlie churchy 
a hole, formerly used to carry off water, is exhibited as the 
place where the star fell, and sunk into the earth, after con¬ 
ducting the PJagi to the cave of the nativity. A list of fifty 
other things of this nature might be added, if either the pa¬ 
tience of the author or of the reader were equal to the detail: 
and if to these were added the inscriptions and observa¬ 
tions contained in the bulky volumes of Quaresmius up¬ 
on this subject alone,* the guide to Bethlehem, as a work, 
concentrating the quintessence of mental darkness, would leave 
us lost in wonder that such a place was once enlightened by the 
precepts of a scholar whom Erasmus so eloquently eulogtzed.f 
They still pretend to show the tomb of St. Jeronii (although 
liis reliques were translated to Rome,) and also that of Euse¬ 
bius. § The same manufacture of crucifixes and beads, which 
supports so many of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, also main¬ 
tains those of Bethlehem; but the latter claim, almost exclu¬ 
sively, the priviledge of marking tire limbs and bodies of pil¬ 
grims, by means of gunpowder, with crosses, stars, and mono¬ 
grams. j| A Greek servant, who accompanied us, thought 
proper to have his skin disfigured in this manner; and the 
wound was for many days so painful, and accompanied with so 
much fever, that we had reason to apprehend a much more se¬ 
rious consequence than he had expected. 
Leaving our halting place by the well, we made a wide cir^ 
cuit in the valley, to keep clear of the town; and returning 
again to Jerusalem, instead of entering the city, took the road 
leading to Jaffa. No notice has been taken of what is called the 
Tomb of Rachel, ## between Bethlehem and Jerusalem, because 
It is a work of no antiquity. The place, however, is held in vene- 
& Ehicid. T. £?. lib. vi. p. 614 ad p. 695. tom. IT. 
+ St. Jerotn passed great part of his life in this retirement. Erasmus says of him,. 
“ Quis docet apertivs f quis detect nt urbartius ? quis snovet'^fficacius ? quis laztdat candi- 
dius ? quis suadct gravius ? quis hortatur ardcntius ?” 
% Be died at the age of 91. in the beginning of the fifth century, A. D 422. 
§ Vid. duareamms, tom. II. p. 676, et seq. 
j| It is worthy of being remarked, that, there exists rarely an instance among the 
popular minor superstitions of the Greek and Roman Church, hut its origin may be 
found in more remote antiquity. Even this practice of marking the skin is noticed 
by Virgil (JfEneid. lib. iv. v. 146.) and by Poinponius Mela, lib. xxi. 
***>“ Est-quajdam via regia, qua ab JElia contra meridianach pl'aga'ra Chebron ducit, 
cui vise Bethlehem vicina stxrnUibus distans ab Hierosolyma, ab oriental! plaga adhae- 
ret. Sep'ulcfirum verd Rachel in eadem vite extremitate ab occidentali parte, hoc est 
in dextrolatere babetur pergentibus Chebron eohaerens, vili operatione collocatum* 
et. nullatn- ha bens adofnationem, lapidea circumdatur pyramided’ Adamnan. £h Uuz. 
MakWon, Jet, Qni, Benedict. Saei. 3. Par. 2. $>. 512. B- Bar. 167$ 
